The Laws of Attraction
by JMDOS
Summary: Alternate universe where Cristina Yang meets Owen Hunt at group therapy after she's put on probation following an incident with a client. Will the laws of attraction play a role in their relationship even outside of Grey Sloan? Let's find out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: hey guys. Welcome to Law of Attraction. So, this is my second story and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm guessing most of y'all have read Love is a Many Blundered Thing (thank you for that) and now you're here for this. So, it's an alternate universe type of thing. Cristina isn't a surgeon (I know. I have to get used to it as well) and the meeting of crowen is different. The rest , well , we're going to leave that up to the law of attraction (see what I did there).

Anyway , I hope guys like it. If not, let me know. I can take it. Happy reading!

/

4 April 2016

Cristina opened the large metal door and stepped inside. The session had already begun so she tried to her best to make it over to the empty seat by the wall without drawing too much attention. She already didn't want to be there. No sense in making a scene.

The long haired one was speaking. The topic was her father again. Cristina wondered if she ever grew tired of speaking about the same thing every week.

But then she shook that thought from her mind. She wasn't there to judge. She was there to complete her hours and then move on with her life.

The girl stepped down and the frizzy haired woman , the woman behind all of this , stepped up. "Okay. Who's next?" Her voice was low , like a therapists should be.

This time , a guy , who she had never seen before or never cared to notice , walked up to the podium and introduced himself. Everyone did that sing-song therapy thing and then he started speaking.

Cristina rolled her eyes and sank further down into her chair.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone , dimming the light and then logged into her email.

If she was forced to be there for an hour every week , she might as well do something useful.

\

When she looked up from her phone again , the session was over and everyone was standing up.

She pushed her phone back into her pocket , grabbed her purse and walked over to the tables stacked with donuts and coffee.

It was the only thing she liked about these things. It was like they were rewarding the emotionally unstable for spilling their thoughts and feelings to strangers. And she was okay with that.

She picked up a powdered donut and bit down on it , letting it hang out of her mouth as she grabbed a foam cup and started filling it with coffee.

"Hey." A voice beside her said.

She looked straight up into piercing blue eyes and was taken aback for a second.

She recovered though and removed the donut from her mouth. "Hey."

The blue-eyed stranger picked up a plate and filled it with donuts. "Only good thing about these things." He mumbled.

She didn't look at him as she poured sugar into her coffee. "Yeah."

"You're new." He stated.

"I am." She stirred milk into her drink.

"Not much of a talker?"

"Not really."

He laughed. "Owen Hunt."

His hand came into her eye line and she looked at it and then at him. She took it. "Cristina Yang."

"Cristina Yang." He repeated , like he was testing it out. "What brings you to group therapy , Cristina Yang?"

She picked up her coffee. "Lots of things." She shrugged and then took a sip of her coffee.

"What kind of things?" He took a bite of one of his donuts.

"Isn't that confidential or whatever?"

"You're in group therapy." He looked around. "Nothing's confidential in group therapy."

She sighed. Clearly this guy wasn't going away so she just gave in. "I slapped a guy." She said it nonchalantly.

"You slapped a guy?"

"Well , he was a client. I slapped a client."

"A client?"

"Are you just going to repeat everything I say?"

He smiled. "So , you slapped a guy who was your client? Doesn't seem like a good enough reason to suffer through therapy."

"I'm a lawyer. I'm not supposed to be slapping clients. But I did."

Owen looked at her for a second. "Did he deserve it?"

"He did."

"Good." He nodded. "I still don't get why you're here."

Cristina sighed again. "My firm gave me an ultimatum. Either this or I'm fired. So , here I am."

"It all makes sense now." He smiled.

Cristina eyed him. "You seem all together. What brings you to group therapy?"

He looked down for a second and then back up at her. "Lots of things." He smiled. "Anyway , I've gotta go before you slap me for prying too deep in your confidential secrets and whatever." He used her words from earlier. "See you around , Cristina Yang." He smiled at her one last time , grabbed a few more donuts and then he was gone.

Cristina watched him walk through the door she he had come through and then looked down at her coffee and took a sip. "Strange guy." She said to herself. She then grabbed her bag , made sure the therapist saw her by giving her a nod and then made her way out of the building , happy that she had gotten the session out of the way and that she wouldn't have to return for several days.

\

5 April 2016

There was a knock at her door and she groaned. She paused the tv and then walked over to the door , took it off the lock and pulled it open.

"I've got food and wine."

"Mer."

"Cristina."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well , hello to you , too."

Cristina rolled her eyes and then stepped aside , allowing her friend to come in.

"I miss seeing you at the office every day so I came to visit you." She placed the packets and bottle of wine on the coffee table and then turned back to Cristina and began removing her jacket.

"That's weird." Cristina stated.

"How is that weird? It's what friends do."

Cristina's brows furrowed. "We don't." She said matter-of-factly. "I've known you for three years and I've never even been to your house."

"Would you just eat the food and drink the wine?" Meredith raised her voice a little.

"Okay , okay."

"Thank you."

Cristina and Meredith settled on the couch and Meredith handed her a container of Chinese food.

"So , how's therapy?"

"Ugh."

"That bad?"

"Worse."

"You've only been to like three sessions." Meredith placed a forkful of noodles in her mouth.

"That's three weeks of not being a lawyer. How's work? How's the firm? Are there any big cases? Murders and whatnot?"

"You sound like a junky."

"I am a junky."

Meredith looked at her. "Why did you slap him?"

Cristina messed with her noodles. "He said some things he wasn't supposed to."

"What did he say?"

She stuffed her mouth. "Not important."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

Meredith nodded. "Okay."

"Okay."

The two of them turned towards the tv and Cristina pressed play.

"Seriously? This show again?"

"It's a show about doctors. Dramatic doctors with dramatic lives. What's their not love?"

Meredith rolled her eyes.

"You know , if I wasn't so awesome at being a lawyer , I would've probably been a surgeon."

"I know."

Cristina looked at her. "You do?"

Meredith smiled. "Even though you don't like to admit it , I'm your best friend and I know things about you."

Cristina was about to say something when she pointed at the tv. "Oh , shut up. This is my favourite part."

\

11 April 2016

She was late again. Maybe she was subconsciously trying to miss the meetings. Who was she kidding? She was consciously trying to miss the meetings.

She made her way over to her unassigned/assigned seat and threw herself down with a sigh. She was tired of rushing everywhere.

She sank down into her chair and tried to pay attention to whatever the hell the person at the podium was saying. People seemed to be relating , maybe she could too.

She looked over and he was watching her. The guy with the blue eyes and the many donuts was watching her and he didn't even care to look away when she caught him. He just grinned and when she smiled back , slightly , he turned back towards the podium.

For the next half an hour , every other minute , he would look at her and smile and she would try to smile back but she had a feeling she was scowling more than smiling because he would just laugh and turn back around.

She wondered what his deal was. Whatever it was , she didn't have time for it. She needed to finish her damn hours and get back to work. That's all she had time for. That's all she had space for. She certainly didn't have time for mysterious blue eyed strangers who take way more donuts than they should from the emotionally unstable donut pile.

\

"Hey."

She knew it was him so she just removed the donut from her mouth and gave him a "hey" back without looking up.

"Are you always late?"

She could feel him watching her. "Most of the time."

"Isn't that bad for a lawyer?"

"It is." She finally looked up at him and she wished she hadn't because once again she was taken aback. She didn't show it though.

He laughed. "Are you a busy woman , Cristina Yang?"

"I am. Why?" She sipped her coffee and then made a face and added another pack of sugar.

"I would like to see you outside of these depressing walls."

"Why?"

He looked awkward. Like he wasn't expecting that. "I just ..."

"Look ," she stopped him before he could say anything. "I don't even know you. I don't know anything about you. You're just this strange man who I have short , mostly one-sided conversations with at group therapy."

He smiled. "So?"

She laughed and then shook her head. "I have to go." She picked up her coffee , placed two donuts in a napkin and then walked away.

He watched her , smiling at her back. "See you around , Cristina Yang."

/

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	2. Chapter 2

14 April 2016

"Have you cried yet?"

"No." She sipped her beer. "Have you?"

"No." Meredith shrugged. "Do you want to cry?"

"No."

"That's not very healthy."

"I know."

"Okay."

Alex eyed the two of them. "Can we not talk about this? It's depressing."

"Thank you." Cristina agreed.

"Okay." Meredith picked up her beer and took a sip.

The bar was crowded. Then again , the bar was always crowded.

Cristina watched as the occupants carried themselves through the bar , unaware of the three lawyers with a dead friend.

"I always wondered if things would've been different if we knew." Meredith spoke up again.

"You shouldn't wonder." Cristina looked at her. "We can't change anything now. You shouldn't wonder."

"I know."

Alex rolled his eyes and decided that it was his turn to speak up. "Look , the guy is better off where he is now. He's away from whatever fucked him up. He's away from harm. He's good now."

The two of them looked at Alex as he carried on. "Cristina's right , Mer , you need to stop wondering. Wondering won't change anything. Wondering won't bring him back. Let go." Meredith looked away for a second and back at him. "And you , Cristina , you need to deal with your grief. He was your protégée and now he's gone and you need to deal with that. Stop suppressing. You're already fucked up as it is."

They were quiet for a moment.

"When did you become the wise one with his shit together?" Cristina broke the silence.

"The same day I met the two of you. I realized that there wasn't any room for me to be messed up."

The three of them laughed and then Alex held up his beer. "To Shane."

Meredith and Cristina looked at one another and the held up their beers as well. "To Shane."

\

18 April 2016

Cristina found herself sitting on the staircase outside of her therapy building.

She just couldn't get herself to go in today.

She sighed.

She knew she had to.

Her job depended on it. And she needed her job. She lived and breathed law and if she didn't have that , she wasn't sure what she would have left.

She spotted Owen Hunt making his way over to her and sighed even louder. She wasn't in the mood for him. Not today.

He came to stand in front of her. "Did they kick you out?" He smiled.

She looked up at him. "Yeah. They didn't appreciate my booing as much as I thought they would."

Owen laughed. "Do you mind if I join you?"

She hesitated for a second and then gestured beside her. "Go ahead."

He nodded and then sat down , removing his hands from the pockets of his leather jacket. "So , has your firm fired you yet?"

"I wouldn't be here if they did."

"Right."

She looked at him sideways , resting her hand on her hands. "Why are you here?" She repeated her question from two sessions ago.

He smiled and then looked down. "I'm not ready for you to know the dark side of me just yet. I'm still trying to get you to like me."

"You're not doing a very good job." She shrugged.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

He smiled. "I'll have to step up my game then."

She was quiet for a moment. "Can I at least ask what you do for a living?"

He thought about it for a second. "I was a U.S army trauma surgeon. But I got dismissed a while ago."

Cristina sensed that was part of the reason he was there. "Woah. Army surgeon." She nodded approvingly. "What do you do now?"

"I'm a trauma surgeon down at Seattle grace hospital."

"Impressive."

"Thank you." He gave her a soft smile and then looked away.

She watched him for a moment. Ever since they met , she hadn't been able to look at him and now that she could , she wasn't hating it. He had a strong jawline that was covered in a ginger stubble that matched his ginger hair. He had a strong nose that complimented his face well. And then his eyes. His eyes were the icing on the cake. They were a beautiful shade of blue but Cristina could see that there was something dark behind them and she wondered if she would ever get to know what it was.

He looked back at her and she looked away , mildly embarrassed that she got caught.

She stood up. "I think I should head inside before the therapist calls my boss."

He smiled at her as she walked up the steps and pulled the door open.

He turned around when he didn't hear the door close and she was standing there in the door way , watching him. "Coming?" She asked innocently.

He couldn't say no so instead , he nodded and stood up , following her inside and as they made their way over to the empty chairs , he just had a feeling that if she allowed him to be in her life the way he wanted to be , he'd have trouble saying no to her a lot more in the future.

/

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	3. Chapter 3

20 April 2016

"So you've been going to your therapy sessions?"

She nodded slowly. "Every one of them."

"And have they helped?"

"They have."

"Have you gotten up and spoken yet?"

She knitted her brows. "Why would I do that?"

Her boss sat forward , resting his arms on the desk. "Cristina , you have to speak about things. It's how you heal."

"I'm perfectly fine with listening to everyone else's stories. The energy in the building feels healing enough."

"Cristina."

"I'm not going to talk about my problems in front of a group of strangers. I don't even have problems worth discussing."

"The fact that you won't admit that you have problems is troubling enough."

Cristina sighed. "Just let me come back. I'm okay. I slapped a client. That was a mistake. You punished me. I've learned. Let me come back."

He sat back again. "I can't do that."

"You're the head of this firm. Of course you can."

"Cristina , you're the best lawyer I've got. You're my favourite. You're a little bit of a pain in the ass but I look past it because you're so damn good at your job. I would want nothing more than for you to come back."

"So let me."

He held his hand up. "Let me finish." He looked at her. "You lost a colleague. You lost a friend. Tragically , for that matter. And obviously you need time to process it. To deal with it. It's why I sent you to therapy."

"I've dealt with it."

"No , you haven't."

"Just let me come back."

"You slapped a client , Yang. That's not normal. You're lucky he didn't press charges." He raised his voice a little.

"Because he knows he deserved it."

He let go of a sigh. "I tell you what , the moment you start speaking about your grief and anger at therapy , you have your job back."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Okay , then."

He stood up. "I'll see you soon."

She stood up as well and shook his hand. "You're damn right you will."

\

Alex handed her a beer and then sat down beside her.

"How's therapy?"

"Awful."

He smiled. "Hook up with anyone yet?"

She rolled her eyes. "No."

"That's too bad." He took a sip of his beer.

"Well , there is this one guy." She started toying with the label around the bottle.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But I don't know. He's weird."

"Good weird or bad weird?"

"Good weird , I guess. He's all dark and mysterious and all those cliché type of things."

"And you'd go for that."

"I wouldn't necessarily go for that. There's just ... something about him."

"So , go for him." Alex shrugged.

"I'm not going for someone in my therapy group."

"Why not?"

"Because people with issues go to therapy."

"You go to therapy."

"Exactly."

He nodded. "I see your point."

"Thank you." She brought the beverage up to her lips and took a sip.

"I still think you should bang him."

She rolled her eyes again. "You think I should bang everybody."

He smiled. "That's true."

\

25 April 2016

"I was a U.S Army trauma surgeon." He started. "We were stationed in Iraq. In the heart of it all and it wasn't ... all bad , you know? It wasn't great either. I saw a lot of things." He kept his eyes down , refusing to look up at the dozens of eyes staring at him. "Things ... people shouldn't see. Shouldn't witness. But I saw it and I survived. I was okay." He nodded to himself. "One morning we woke up and it seemed like a normal day. Things carried on as usual. We got our mission. We were briefed on what was expected from us. We prepared and off we went." He stopped when the door opened and she stepped inside. They made eye contact and she gave him a nod and for a minute , he contemplated stepping off the stage and heading straight out the door. But he couldn't. He needed to finish what he had started because he knew if he didn't , he wouldn't gain the courage to ever again. He watched her walk to her seat and sit down. He expected her to take out her phone like she always did every session since she had started but she didn't. Instead , she watched him , making what he was doing a million times harder. His eyes dropped down again as he summoned up the little courage he had left. He cleared his throat and continued. "It was a rescue mission. Two of our own had been kidnapped , tortured and then left for dead. Our mission was to go in , get them out and then report back to base to try and help them." He paused. "When we got there , it was clear it was all a trap. Things happened fast. I don't remember much. I just remember waking up in an unfamiliar place , surrounded by unfamiliar people and there were about five of my people , including me , tied up on the ground." He looked up to see if she was still watching him. She was. He looked away and carried on. "We were tortured in ... every way you could torture another human being. I still have the scars. Emotionally and physically." He paused again. "When it was clear that we weren't making it out alive , I accepted it. I lived my life. I served my country. I accepted my fate. But then one night , while everyone was asleep , they came for us. They raided the building we were in and it turned out that our kidnappers got tipped off that they were coming so when they showed up ... they were prepared." He shook his head. "Thirty of us , including our rescue team , went into that mission and only one came out." He turned around , facing his back to the group for a moment and then turned back around. "That's when ... that's when I was discharged from the army. That was two years ago and it turns out , I'm still pretty damaged." He smiled to himself. "I , uh , I had a panic attack recently. I always have them. This one was just a little more public. It happened at the hospital I work at and it didn't do much good that my boss was helping on the case that I was working on. So , it became quite obvious to the both of us that I needed help. I also punched an intern. That's never a good thing." He laughed a little. "So , uh , that's why I'm here. I need help and I'm here to find it." He finally looked up at everyone. "Thank you for listening." Everyone started applauding as he made his way off the stage. He walked over to his seat and sat down. He then looked over to her and found that she was already looking at him. Neither of them smiled. They just looked at one another for a moment until Owen broke his eyes away from her and cast them forward. He could see something in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was and he wasn't ready to find out yet.

\

She spotted him and made her way over. He didn't look up when she stopped in front of him.

"You didn't take your usual fifteen donuts so I brought you some." She stuck out a napkin with five donuts stacked on top of one another.

When he took it , she climbed onto the back of his truck and sat next to him.

"Thank you."

"You're sharing though." She took one and then took a bite.

He finally looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back , wiping the powder off of her face.

They were quiet for a moment.

"My colleague committed suicide." She suddenly said.

His head whipped up to her but she kept her eyes down as she carried on. "He was my intern when he started at the firm and then we grew closer and he became an important person in my life. I don't have many important people but he was one." She looked up at him as she nodded and then looked back down again. "He , uh , he hung himself. And the worst part is , I have no idea why. He didn't leave a note or anything so I'm just left wondering what went wrong." She cleared her throat , trying to lessen the emotion in her voice. "Shane and I were working on a case together and when I got back , my client claimed that he did it for attention. And that's why I slapped him. I should've done more , to be honest." She looked up at Owen. "And that's why I'm here." She shrugged.

He watched her. He was so convinced he had scared her off but here she was , proving him wrong. She was amazing and strong and beautiful and he wanted to tell her so but the words wouldn't come out. "I guess hitting people is our thing." He said instead.

She smiled. "I guess." Then she took another bite of her donut and looked away.

Owen watched her for another moment and then picked up a donut of his own and took a bite.

And as they sat there , chewing on their emotionally-unstable-reward donuts , they both knew that what was happening between the two of them was about to become bigger than the both of them.

/

Remember to review and comment loves!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm sorry that I'm only posting one chapter at a time. I'm still trying to find a rhythm between writing for Love is a many blundered thing and this story. Don't worry though , I'll get the hang of it.

Enjoy!

\

27 April 2016

"So , how would you feel about me setting you up on date?" Meredith sat down next to her , handing her a glass of wine.

"I would really hate that and you."

"Oh , come on. It would be a double date type of thing. Something that regular people do."

"We're not regular people."

"We could try to be."

"You and Derek knock yourselves out. Go on as many dates as you please. Just don't involve me. I'm good." She took a sip of her wine.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"You know , you sound like an old woman who has given up on love." Meredith paused. "And sex."

"Maybe I have." She shrugged.

Meredith sighed. "Just agree to this one and then I'll leave you alone forever."

"Why are you forcing me to go on a date?" Cristina raised her voice a little.

"Because you've been inside this apartment ever since Shane and I'm starting to get worried about you!"

"There's nothing to be worried about."

"Cristina."

"Meredith."

"Would you stop being so stubborn and let me help you , for gods sake?"

Cristina groaned. "You know what? Fine. If it will get you off my back , fine."

Meredith smiled. "Thank you."

Cristina looked at her. "You're really annoying , did you know that?"

Meredith sat back against the couch , a smile still on her lips. "I know."

\

29 April 2016

Cristina adjusted the hem of her dress as she walked into the restaurant. It was one of the few nice ones she had. It was burgundy and form fitting and short enough for a first date. It had a slit at the thigh and the neckline came together at her collar bones , held up by two straps on either shoulder. Her loose curls hung by her shoulders and her make up was subtle. She knew she looked good. Like Meredith said , she hadn't been out in the months , she might as well make the most of it.

She stop to speak to the maître d' when she saw Meredith wave her over.

She smiled at the woman and then made her way to the table.

Derek stood and gave her a kiss on the cheek and so did Meredith.

"You look good." Meredith smiled.

"I know." She pulled out her chair and sat down. "Okay , I'm here. So who's this guy you were dying for me to go out with?"

"Well , he's Derek's colleague at the hospital and he's really nice and you'll like him."

"Doubt it." Cristina shrugged. "So , where is he?"

Derek nodded towards the door. "Here he comes."

Cristina sighed and then turned around. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god." She looked back at Meredith. "That's the guy?" She whispered harshly.

Meredith looked up at the approaching gentleman and back at Cristina. "Yes. Why? No good?" She whispered back , equally harsh.

Cristina sat back and brought hand up to her forehead , closing eyes , wishing she'd never agreed to the date.

He finally got to the table and extended his hand to Derek. "Shepherd."

"Hunt." Derek took it.

He looked Meredith. "Owen Hunt." He extended his hand to her as well.

"Meredith Grey."

He nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Cristina finally dropped her hand and looked up at him.

She could see that he was equally shocked by the expression on his face.

He pointed at her and then at Derek and then back at her. "Cristina?"

"Hey."

Meredith looked at the two of them. "Wait. You two know one another?"

Owen was still looking at her. He dropped his hand. "Well , this is a surprise."

"I know."

He looked at Meredith and Derek and then back at her. "Should we just go with it?"

She shrugged. "I don't see why not."

\

"So , you guys have the same therapy group?" Meredith questioned.

"Yep." Cristina stabbed her pasta with a fork and brought a mouthful up to her mouth.

"What are the odds."

"Unless he's stalking me." Cristina suggested.

Meredith turned to the man in question. "Are stalking her?"

"As tempting as that sounds , I just don't have the time to stalk anyone right now."

Cristina smiled at him.

"What a small world."

Cristina leaned back. "I think we've blown her mind." She whispered to him.

He nodded. "I think so , too."

\

After dinner and during dessert , the group conversation had died down and the couples were now engaging in individual conversations.

Owen was telling her about the time a patient of his came in with over eleven gunshot wounds to various parts of his body and how a fifteen hour surgery had helped save his life. Usually , speaking about blood and surgery and wounds wasn't really a preferred first date topic of conversation but Cristina was really interested in what he had to say. And she could see the passion in his eyes as he spoke about successfully dislodging a bullet from the patients kidney without rupturing any major vessels.

She'd hate to admit it , but she was really enjoying herself.

He looked up at her. "But enough about me." He shook his head as he caught himself. "Tell me about your work. What was your best case?"

"Oh , that's easy." She waved him off and sat back in her chair. "It would have to be the first one Mer and I worked together on during law school."

He smiled. "Go on."

"So , it was the first case that we were given to prosecute on our own. I was first chair , of course ." she shrugged and Owen laughed. "The case involved a mother and son who were both being convicted for the murder of the mother's husband and their motive was that the husband had this really great life policy so obviously they were going to cash in big time. So , the case was given to us because I mean , they were practically in handcuffs already. The case was a dud. It was just a good experience for us law students. But then ," Owen watched her eyes light up. "Meredith and I were speaking to this guy's ex wife and she just happened to let it slip , during this jealous rage rant that the two of us may or may not have provoked , that Henry , that's the husband , hadn't even signed the new will before he passed and that's when I realized that his entire estate would have to go to her and well , we pretty much had her. The next day , she fell apart on the stand and confessed to the entire thing." She looked at Meredith and found that she and Derek were listening. "And that's how the two of us won a case that was thought to be over before it started and it just happened to be our first one."

"We've been friends ever since." Meredith added.

"I can't get her to leave me alone." Cristina complained.

"Wow." Owen sat back. "You're even more amazing than I thought."

"Yeah , well." Cristina shrugged and then took a bite of her chocolate cake.

"Hello , am I chopped liver?" Meredith questioned , forcing Owen to look at him.

Cristina laughed , nearly choking on cake and Derek handed her a napkin.

"You're the best chopped liver there is. A-grade." Derek informed her.

She smiled. "Thank you."

\

Cristina and Owen stood outside of the restaurant as Meredith went to get their coats and Derek went to get the car.

"Where are you parked?"

"Right over there." He nodded across the street to his truck.

"Oh." She nodded. "Convenient."

He smiled. "Yeah." He waited a moment. "How about you?"

"Oh , I took a cab because I didn't feel like finding a parking and whatever."

"Need a ride home?" He offered.

"I'm good. I'm probably going over to Meredith's after this."

He nodded.

They were quiet for a moment.

She turned to him. "I really ... enjoyed this evening."

He turned to her as well. "You're not disappointed that it wasn't some rich lawyer guy with a Maserati?"

She laughed. "No. I'm not disappointed."

He smiled again. "I enjoyed our evening , too."

She turned back to the street and so did he.

Cristina was fighting an inner battle. She wasn't one to be shy. She wasn't a shy person. She was blunt and to the point so when she was standing there , next to a guy she was clearly attracted to , with a blank mind , exuding awkwardness , she wanted to punch herself in the face. She wasn't a shy person.

"I think you're beautiful." He suddenly said.

Her head whipped up at him and he held her eyes for a second before casting his own downwards and away.

But she kept looking at him.

She wanted to say something back. Something. Anything. But she couldn't come up with a single thing.

So , she looked away as well and instead , stepped closer to him , her shoulder brushing against his.

They stood in silence , enjoying being close to one another , until Meredith came out of the restaurant and Derek pulled up with the car.

They said their goodbyes and then she watched him walk across the street and get into his truck.

She then got into Derek's SUV and pulled on her seatbelt.

"So ," Meredith turned to her once they were out on the road. "Do you hate me for dragging you along?"

"Yes. I'll always hate you. You should know that by now." Cristina shrugged.

"Okay but what about Major Owen Hunt? Did I do good."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes , Meredith. You did good."

/

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	5. Chapter 5

A/N: are y'all enjoying this story? If not , let me know. And if you are , definitely let me know!

Anyway , enjoy!

/

6 May 2016

Cristina found herself slightly nervous as she pulled open the door and stepped inside. Her eyes automatically searched for him and she caught herself. She rolled her eyes and walked over to her seat and threw herself down.

The long haired one was speaking again and she was about to pull out her phone when someone sat down next to her.

She didn't look up to see who it was.

She didn't have to.

"Does she ever stop speaking about her father?" He whispered.

"She hasn't yet so I doubt it." She whispered back.

He looked at her and she looked at him.

She could see him smiling in the dark and found herself smiling back.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey."

"How have you been?"

"Good. You?"

He shrugged. "Good."

She nodded.

Owen started to say something but then got shushed by the person in front of them.

"Speak to you after , I guess."

She laughed. "Okay."

She watched him smile at her and then turn towards the stage. She kept her eyes on him a second longer and then did the same. She suddenly couldn't wait for the session to end.

\

The head of the group stepped off the stage and the lights came on.

He finally turned to her. "Donuts?"

"Is that even a question?" She grabbed her bag and walked ahead of him.

He got sidetracked when someone stopped him and started a conversation.

She walked over to the donuts and stacked a few on a napkin.

A moment later, she felt a hand at her waist and her heart fluttered. She had to catch herself again.

"Sorry about that." His hand skimmed across her back and then it was gone. "So , where were we?" He clasped his hands together and smiled at her.

There was something in his eye but she ignored it and watched him pour two cups of coffee and then he turned to her. "Our spot?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

She followed him out of the building and to his truck.

He let down the back and held her hand as she hopped onto it and then he did the same.

She passed the donuts to him and he took one and then he passed her coffee to her.

"How's work? Has your boss forgiven you yet?" He took a bite of his donut.

"Yeah , kinda. He wants me to speak at therapy though." She looked at her donut. "That's not going to happen." She took her bite.

"And why's that?"

"I'm not about to tell a group full of strangers my most intricate and intimate thoughts and secrets. That's not going to happen."

"It's not hat bad." He shrugged. "Once you're up there and you start speaking , it's not that bad." He looked at her. "You could speak to me?" He suggested. "Would that count?"

She smiled. "I'm not sure. Maybe. But the real question is , are you willing to listen to all the bullshit that's going on in my head." She nudged him.

It was his turn to smile. "Cristina , I'd be willing to listen to you read the entire dictionary."

She held his eyes for a moment and then looked away. "Yeah , well , too bad dictionaries have become obsolete. Otherwise , I'd be holding you to that." She took a sip of her coffee.

He watched her and couldn't ignore how light and happy he felt just being close to her. Feelings he hadn't felt in years. He brought the coffee up to his lips and smiled. "Just my loss then , I guess."

\

10 May 2016

The ambulance pulled into the bay and Owen pulled on his gloves as he rushed over to the vehicle. The paramedics pushed open the doors before he could.

"Female. Thirty two. Started coughing up blood when-"

He froze. "Cristina?"

She walked alongside the gurney as it was wheeled out of the ambulance. He took her hand as she got down. "I , uh , Meredith... I don't know what happened. She was fine one minute and the next... " she looked down at the blood on her clothes. "There was just so much blood. How could someone cough up that much blood?"

Owen took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "It's okay. We've got her. She's going to be okay."

She nodded.

He looked at the paramedic and grabbed hold of the gurney. "Let's go."

\

"Cristina!" She stood up as she watch Derek run towards her, pulling off his scrub cap. He grabbed ahold of her shoulders when he reached her and looked down at the blood on her clothes. "Are you okay?"

She gently pushed him off. "Yes. I'm fine."

He looked at her , his eyes wide with concern. "Where's Meredith? What happened?"

"She just started coughing up blood and wouldn't stop and then she passed out in the ambulance on the way here. Owen took her for some tests and a CT. They've been gone a while."

Derek nodded. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

He nodded again. "I'm going to go find them. See what we know so far. I'll be right back."

"I'm coming with you." She stated.

"You have to stay here."

"Derek." She said firmly. "I'm coming with you."

He watched her for a moment. "Okay. Let's go."

\

She followed him to radiology where they found Owen in one of the rooms. They stepped into the small space and it was immediately crowded but none of them cared.

"What do we know?" Derek questioned.

"We're waiting for the scans to come up." Owen looked at Cristina. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

He watched her and then turned back to the screens. "Here we go."

They all waited as the image loaded and Cristina took a deep breath in. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but she kept her eyes fixed to the screen.

And then it was up and everyone looked dreadful and Cristina looked between the two men and then at the radiologist. "What?"

Owen and Derek looked at one another.

"What? What's going on?"

Owen looked at her.

"Owen , what's going on? Tell me!"

"Meredith has a tumor at the base of her throat. That's what caused the bleeding. It could be benign but it doesn't look like it is.

"So , she has cancer?" Cristina said slowly.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Probably."

"Okay." Cristina stood back and folded her arms across her chest. "So , what now?"

"Now , we inform Meredith and then do a biopsy to figure out if it really is malignant. And then we'll go from there."

Cristina nodded , her eyes watching Meredith through the glass window. "Okay." She said softly.

Owen looked between Cristina and Derek. "Who's Meredith's emergency contact person?"

"I am." Cristina looked at him and then back at Meredith. "I'm her person."

\

11 May 2016

Cristina was seated on a gurney in a quiet hallway , still dressed in her bloody clothes. She hadn't gotten a chance to go home yet. She hadn't gotten a chance to eat or sleep either.

Meredith had gone into surgery more than a half an hour ago and she finally had a minute to breathe. Everything had been so chaotic in the last twenty four hours that she had forgotten to sit down for all of it. Her legs were killing her.

She rested her head against the wall and watched a nurse walk by , carrying a bag of blood. If she had the energy , she would have laughed at how normal that seemed to be. Someone carrying blood around.

She looked down the hallway and thought about how this would've been her environment. She wouldn't have hated it. She was certain she would've liked it. But she chose law and she was glad she did.

Someone sat down beside her and she looked sideways at him , keeping her head against the wall.

"Hey." Her voice was soft and her eyes looked heavy.

"Hey." He gave her a small smile. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm not the one in surgery at the moment with someone's hands inside my body but I'm fine."

"She's going to be fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Dr Bailey is one of the best and I assure you she's going to be okay."

"Okay." She whispered. "But if she dies , it's on you."

Owen laughed and then took her hand into his , pulling her closer to him. "She's not going to die but if she does , sure. You can blame me."

"Thanks." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Have you eaten anything today?"

"Does a half a cup of jello I stole from Meredith's tray count?"

"No , it certainly does not."

"Then no."

"Come on. Let's go get some food in the cafeteria before you pass out." He moved to get up but she wrapped her arm around his waist , holding him still.

"In a minute. Let me just rest my eyes for a few seconds."

Owen sighed. "Okay. One minute."

"Thank you." She mumbled and then tightened her grip around his waist , pulling herself closer.

"You really need a change of clothes , too."

"In a minute." Her voice was barely audible.

He smiled and then moved some hair out of her face and watched her. Her breath was tickling his neck and her body was so warm against his that he had to admit that he didn't want to move either.

He slouched down and her head fell against his chest and she snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to keep her warm and then used one hand to run his hand back and forth across her back , making her hum and then drift back to sleep.

"It's okay." He said softly. "You get some rest. I'm here."

/

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	6. Chapter 6

11 May 2016

Cristina woke up in an unfamiliar room and blinked a few times before she sat up.

She had no idea how she had gotten to the on-call room but she had a strong feeling it had to do with Owen Hunt.

On the edge of the bed, she spotted a pair of scrubs along with a hoodie and a muffin.

She threw back the covers and picked up the muffin, gave it a sniff and then broke a piece off and popped it into her mouth. She finally realized how hungry she was and then took a huge bite of it. "This guy is god sent." She said aloud as she took several more bites.

\

She walked into the room and Meredith opened her eyes.

"Well, you look like crap." Cristina hovered by the door.

"Did you become a doctor while I was out?"

Cristina looked down at her attire. "Yeah. Thanks for bleeding on me, by the way. Really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Meredith moved to sit up as much as she could, wincing as she did.

"Have they spoken to you yet?" Cristina walked to the corner of the room and dragged a chair to the side of Meredith's bed and sat down.

"No. Not yet."

Cristina looked up as Owen, Derek and Dr. Bailey walked past the window. "Well, here they come."

The three doctors stepped inside the room and Meredith and Cristina looked up at them.

"Ms Grey," Bailey started. "These two men insist on being here for this and I'm not in the mood to argue. Is that okay with you?"

Cristina made eye contact with Owen and he smiled at her and gave her a nod.

"Yes, that's fine."

"Suit yourself." Bailey gave a short nod and then looked back at the men behind her and Cristina found it amusing how they were obviously afraid of her. "Ms Grey, when we first looked at your scans, we were under the impression that the tumor was at the base of your neck, however, when I got in there, I found that it was actually embedded into your lungs. And that explains why you've just started experiencing symptoms rather than a few months ago."

Meredith looked at Cristina and then back at Bailey. "Okay and what does all of this mean?"

"Well, we got the tumor out but your cancer is metastatic and it has spread."

Meredith took Cristina's hand into hers.

"So, what's the plan here?" Cristina questioned.

"The plan is to put Ms Grey,"

"Meredith." Meredith corrected.

Bailey nodded. "To put Meredith through a course of chemo and hopefully this will rid the body of the cancerous cells."

"And that will work?"

"That's what we're hoping for."

Meredith looked at Cristina again and then at Bailey and the men, her eyes wide and full of emotion. "Okay."

\

Cristina looked in through the window at Meredith and Derek and then walked over to the nurses station to stand beside Owen.

"How did this happen?" She asked no one in particular. "Besides the binge drinking, Meredith tries to stay as healthy as possible."

Owen looked at her. "Cancer doesn't care."

"Yeah." She looked up at him. "Thanks for the clothes, by the way." She paused. "And the muffin."

"You're welcome. I figured still being covered in blood when you woke up wasn't something you were looking forward to. Same goes for passing out."

She smiled. "Well, you were right." She looked away and then back at him. "How did I get to the on-call room though?"

"I carried you." He answered casually.

"You carried me?"

"I carried you."

"I didn't give you permission to do that."

"Okay, would you rather have wanted me to to leave you in the middle of a hallway, completely passed out and unaware of your surroundings?"

She didn't answer.

"Exactly."

She rolled her eyes and looked away again.

His pager went off and they both looked at it. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later?" He started backing up.

"Yeah, sure." She nodded.

"You look good in my clothes, by the way." His eyes fell onto the hoodie and then back on her face.

She smiled and shook her head as he ran off.

A minute later, she watched Derek leave the room and run in the same direction Owen had. She wondered what the emergency was as she walked into the room and sat down in her chair.

"How's your boyfriend?" Meredith asked.

"How's yours?" She put her feet up on the bed.

"Nice hoodie."

"Nice pjs."

Meredith looked down at her hospital gown and then back up at Cristina. "Did he ask you out on a date yet?"

"Are you a teenage girl, now?"

"Maybe." Meredith smiled.

Cristina rolled her eyes.

Meredith laughed and then patted the bed beside her.

Cristina stood up, kicked her shoes off and crawled in.

Meredith rested her head against Cristina's and sighed. "Cancer."

"Yeah."

"I'm going to lose my hair."

"Probably."

"That sucks."

"We'll get you a wig. It'll be fine." Cristina shrugged.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They were quiet for a moment.

Cristina looked at Meredith. "I'm glad you didn't die."

Meredith gave her a small smile. "Me, too."

\

14 May 2016

Cristina walked into the room and headed straight for her friend.

"Hey." She stole a stool and pulled it over to the side of Meredith's chair. "How's it going?" She nodded towards the IV coming out of Meredith's chest.

"I feel fine, if that's what you're asking. But I'm concerned about the after."

"You can handle a little puking." She shrugged.

"Yeah."

Cristina looked around at the room. It wasn't exactly a happy atmosphere. Cancer didn't really create that.

All of those people were there for the same reason she and Meredith were and some of them weren't even as lucky as Meredith was. Some of them were just extending their death sentence. It was depressing and sad and horrible, all at the same time.

"You don't have to be here, you know."

Cristina looked at her. "What?"

"I can do this by myself. You don't have to hold my hand."

"I know that but I'm here and I'm staying."

"Cristina..."

"Don't be dumb, Meredith. I told you I'm coming with you to every one of these things and that's what I'm doing."

Meredith sighed. "Fine. Suit yourself."

\

18 May 2016

Cristina knocked.

"Meredith?"

There wasn't any answer so she knocked again. "Mer, I brought takeout from that place you like."

Still, no answer.

She tried the handle and the door opened. She pushed inside. "Meredith, your front door is unlocked." She made her way over to the kitchen and dropped the bag of food on the counter. "I could be a burglar." She walked back into the living room. "Or a murderer." She made her way upstairs. "Or a Jehovah's Witness." She walked into her friend's bedroom. "Meredith?"

"In here." A voice came from the bathroom and Cristina walked over, pushing the bathroom door open.

"Mer?"

"My hair is starting to fall out." Meredith said from the bathroom floor.

Cristina didn't say anything.

"My hair is falling out, Cristina." She ran a hand through her hair and Cristina watched as a fistful came out.

"It's just hair. We'll buy you new ones."

"I don't want new ones." Meredith yelled. "I don't want to have to wear a wig. I don't want to throw up every two seconds. I don't want to constantly feel like I've just ran a marathon. It's only been a few days but I've had enough. I don't want this. I don't want cancer." She started to cry and Cristina hovered by the door before she stepped forward and sat down next Meredith, pulling her against her chest.

"I know, Mer." She stroked her hair. "This all sucks. It really does but you know what?" She took the crying woman's head into her hands and brought Meredith face to face with her. "We're going to get through this. You and me. This is all just temporary and before you know it, you'll be in remission and you'll be fine and you'll never have to go through this again. Just think about that, okay? Only a few more treatments to go and then we're good. Okay?"

"What if we're not?"

"We will be." Cristina said firmly. "We have to be."

/

*A/N: my medical knowledge comes from the internet and my imagination.

/

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	7. Chapter 7

20 May 2016

"I skipped therapy last week because a good friend of mine got diagnosed with metastatic cancer." She started. She didn't like this. Group speaking wasn't her thing. Which was ironic considering the fact that she was a lawyer. But there's a difference between openly speaking about some one else's faults and actions to a group of strangers and openly speaking about your own faults and actions to a group of strangers.

She looked at Owen and he gave her a small smile and nodded, encouraging her to carry on. "It's been hard on her." She nodded. "It's been hard on the both of us." She added softly. "I never thought I'd be in this place. I don't make friends easily. I'm not a particularly nice or joyful person so, I don't make friends easily but when I do, it's usually for life and I guess that's where I go wrong because I become attached to these people. These people who could so easily fuck me over." She looked at the head of the group who shook her head. "Sorry." She laughed nervously. "But they could. They could... " she looked at the head again. "You know. Or they could die or get cancer or just simply decide to end their life and where would that leave me? That might sound selfish but it's not. I just... vulnerability isn't my thing. I hate being vulnerable. And twice this year already, I have been unbelievably vulnerable and it made me angry and sad and frustrated because I hate feeling this way and I lashed out and it almost cost me my job. The only reason I'm here, the only reason I'm up here talking to you guys about my vulnerability, is to save my job that I love so much. That I've devoted my life to." She was rambling, she knew that, but she couldn't stop. "I'm going to be honest with you, at first, I was pissed off when I was sentenced to come here because what's the point? But then I met some people," she looked at Owen. "And I started speaking about things and I don't repress as much as I used to and," she smiled a little. "It's not so bad. I don't hate you guys as much as I used to." The crowd laughed and she smiled. "So, uh, I guess that's it. Thank you." She walked off the stage and crowd applauded. She headed straight for Owen and sat down beside him.

"I'm proud of you." He smiled at her.

She looked at him and then dropped her forehead on his shoulder. "I'm never doing that again."

He laughed as he rubbed her back. "We'll see."

\

Owen handed her a cup of coffee and she stuck out a donut to him, giving him a bite.

"That really sucked." She took a bite for herself.

"You were great up there."

"I was rambling."

"You were great." He looked into her eyes and she looked away.

"Would you just let me drown in my self pity?"

"Fine." He shrugged. "Drown."

"Thank you."

They were quiet.

"How is she?"

"She's, uh, not doing so great. Last night I had to shave all of her hair off."

"That's sucks."

"Yeah. I'm going to get her a wig once I leave here, though. I promised her we'd buy her new hair if she ever loses her own."

Owen looked at her again. "You're a really good friend."

Cristina was quiet.

"Do you wanna go on a date with me?"

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry?"

"A date." He paused. "With me."

"Owen..."

"You can totally say no but just before you do, remember that group therapy is a weekly thing and if you do say no, it'll be awkward and one of us will stop coming and eventually we'll have to be checked into an institution and it'll just be a whole thing. So."

She laughed but then it faded and she became serious. "Owen," she turned to him. "I just don't think now is the right time. I have to be with Meredith. She needs me. And it just wouldn't feel right going out while she's at home alone, all cancery and bald."

"So, then, we'll stay in. I'll cook or we could order in and Meredith can join us. We don't have to go out."

Cristina was quiet. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "I'm sure."

She smiled back. "Okay, then." She nodded.

His smile faded. "I don't have to shave my head, do I? Because I will if I have to but I'd rather not."

She laughed. "No. You don't have to shave your head."

\

"Mer, I'm back." She stepped inside and closed the door. "I got you something." She announced as she climbed the stairs and walked over to Meredith's room. When she got to the doorway, Meredith sat up in bed.

Cristina held the blonde wig up in her hand. "New hair."

Meredith smiled. "You got me hair?"

"I got you hair."

Cristina walked over to the bed and sat down in front of Meredith. "Wanna try it on?"

She nodded.

Cristina placed it on her head, pulling it forward and adjusting it until it sat correctly. She smiled.

"How does it look?"

"I'm not gonna lie, it looks better than your old hair." She nodded, admiring it.

"Should I be offended by that?"

Cristina smiled again. "Go take a look."

Meredith slowly moved the covers off of her and walked over to the mirror. She looked at her reflection for a while and then smiled, making eye contact with Cristina in the mirror. "Thank you."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."

"Well, you know what the say," she started kicking off her shoes. "If you look good, you feel good." She paused. "Or whatever." She shrugged and then crawled on to the bed.

Meredith turned to her. "I'm really grateful for you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Cristina waved her off and Meredith laughed. "We all know I'm great. No need to get emotional about it."

/

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	8. Chapter 8

I'm uploading again because something went wrong the first time. Sorry about that. I hope you didn't get any spoilers!

Enjoy!

\

25 May 2016

Cristina pulled the door open and found Owen on the other side, an apologetic smile on his face while holding take out bags against his chest.

She looked at him for a moment, admiring how adorable he looked.

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's midnight."

"I know."

"You said you'd be here by five."

"I know." He was quiet. "Can I come in anyway?"

She waited a moment. "Sure." She stepped aside and allowed him in. "You better have a great excuse." She closed the door and turned to him, folding her arms across her chest.

"I do." He nodded. "As I was about leave, a bus crash came in. A bunch of school kids on their way home from a field trip." He explained. "The driver lost control and slammed into on-coming traffic."

Her arms dropped. "Did anyone die?"

"Thankfully, no."

She sighed. "Well, I can't really be mad at you for saving lives, now can I?"

"No. You can't." He smiled.

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen and he followed her.

"Where's Meredith?" He asked as he dropped the bags onto the kitchen counter.

"Here."

They turned around to the voice walking in through the doorway. "A little late to have dinner, isn't it?" She teased as she sat down at the table, already winded from the trip down the stairs.

"I know, I know." Owen sounded apologetic. "It's my fault."

"It's okay. This way, I don't have to have Cristina's terrible eggs for breakfast."

Cristina looked offended. "Wow."

Meredith shrugged. "Hey, I might be dying. Gotta speak the truth as much as I can."

Cristina set her food down in front of her. "Really? The cancer card? You're disgusting."

Meredith laughed and took a bite of her fry. "If you got it..."

Cristina laughed as well as she sat down beside Owen at the table. "Yeah, yeah. Shut up."

\

"Cristina was a terrible person when we first met."

"I was not."

"She was." Meredith looked at Cristina. "You were."

"Oh, well, so were you."

"I'm aware." Meredith shrugged.

"We were sharks."

"We were." Meredith smiled fondly.

"Sharks?" Owen looked confused.

"It's what you call someone who's hungry for their passion and doesn't let anyone or anything get in their way." Cristina explained.

"So, the cases and your colleagues were the little fish and you guys were the sharks feasting on them?"

"Exactly." Cristina nodded.

"I like it."

"What about you, Owen?" Meredith wondered. "Are you a shark?"

"Well, I'm an attending. I don't have anyone or anything standing in my way. If I want a case, I take it."

"What about as an intern?"

"I went into battle a few months into my second year residency, so there wasn't much time to fight over surgeries." He shrugged and then took a sip of his beer.

"And what about over there?"

Meredith watched his eyes darken as he looked at her. He looked over at Cristina and then down at his drink, a forced smiled on his face.

"You don't have to answer. That was a stupid question." Meredith waved it off.

"No, it wasn't." He shook his head. "There, uh, there was never a lack of surgeries over there. People were always coming in. Nobody really fought over cases and the ones worth fighting over... well, over there, they were lost causes. Not like here. Here, you get to fix them. You get to them first. Out in the desert... things are different."

Cristina placed her hand on his knee and he smiled up at her. "Anyway," he cleared his throat. "Let's talk more about how much of a terrible person Cristina used to be."

The mood shifted again and Meredith smiled. "Gladly."

\

"So, then, she body blocks him as I sprint across the court house to get the papers signed by the judge, on the other side of this gigantic building, during lunch break so there are like a million people in my way... but long story short, the guy was declared innocent and the little girl didn't lose her dad." Meredith smiled.

"Wow." Owen really looked amazed.

"That was a good day." Cristina smiled.

"And Goodwin got fired so that made it a great day." Meredith laughed.

"Now, he was a terrible person."

Meredith nodded in agreement.

The three of them were seated on the floor in the living room. Meredith was turned sideways, her elbow leaning on the couch cushion. Owen had his back against the couch so that he could pay equal attention to both ladies and Cristina was facing both of them with her legs stretched out in front of her. At some point, she had forced her feet under Owens legs in order to keep them warm and he had gladly allowed her to.

She watched as the woman who had become the most important person in her life interacted with the man who was beginning to grow on her just as much.

She was happy they were getting along.

She thought about the time Meredith had set her up with Owen, not knowing that she already had her eye on him. If she believed in it, she would've called that fate.

Meredith said her name and brought her attention back to the conversation in front of her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Where did you go?" Meredith looked curious.

"Nowhere. I'm here."

"Are you tired? Should I go?"

"Oh, no. Stay. I'm okay."

Owen looked uncertain but smiled and gave her a nod anyway.

"I was just telling Owen about that time you made an intern cry."

Cristina looked at her. "You're really the worse wingman ever."

Meredith laughed.

"Why would you need a wingman?"

She looked at Owen, a light smile playing on his lips. "Oh, don't play coy. We're on a date."

"And you need a wingman because..."

She rolled her eyes.

"You want to impress me."

She looked offended. "Do not."

"Yes." He smiled even harder. "You do."

"Nope."

He poked her thigh. "You like me."

She looked at him, trying her best not to laugh. "You're a child."

"A child that you like." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Well, now I sound like a pedophile."

Owen laughed and Cristina laughed along.

Meredith watched the two of them, their laughter bringing her joy and decided that it was time for her to leave.

She yawned and then stretched. "Anyway, I'm going to head upstairs." She looked down at the nonexistent watch on her wrist. "It's like two in the morning. I'm exhausted."

"Uh huh." Cristina watched her. "Don't count on that Oscar anytime soon, Mer."

Meredith ignored her and stood up. "Owen, thank you for a lovely breakfast and I hope I get to see you again."

Owen laughed. "I hope so, too."

"Goodnight." She waved over her shoulder as she made her way up the stairs and disappeared into one of the rooms.

Owen turned to her. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked again, his voice suddenly a lot lower.

She shook her head. "No." She watched him. "Do you want to leave?"

He shook his head. "No."

She smiled. "Okay, then."

"Okay."

He took her hand into his and tugged. She got the hint and scooted closer until they were shoulder-to-shoulder.

"I had a great night." She said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean we'll be doing this again?"

"It does."

He smiled such a radiant smile that she had to return it.

They were quiet. Just looking at one another and after a moment, she had decided that his eyes had quickly become her favorite view.

His hand came to rest on her thigh and he looked down at it and then back up at her. "Would it be okay if I kissed you?"

She pretended that she was thinking about his request as her nose came to rest against his. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea." She feigned seriousness.

"It's not?"

"Hu uh." She shook her head.

He pulled away and she immediately missed the contact. "That's a shame."

She watched him for a minute as his smile grew. "Would you just come here?" She laughed as she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her.

The moment their lips touched, everything fell away. It was just them and their lips and their hands and their chests rising up against one another, the constant friction the only thing keeping them grounded.

Cristina's hand slipped into his hair and pulled him even closer.

He felt so familiar. Comfortable, even. Like they had been doing this for years.

His tongue slipped into her mouth and she sighed into him. He moved slow. Enjoying her. Making sure she enjoyed him.

His hand made its way up to her hip and squeezed.

Her eyes opened and she pulled back slowly, finally realizing that she needed to breathe.

She rested her forehead against his as she tried to catch her breath. "We definitely have to to do that again."

"Definitely."

\

"I think they're going to fire me."

Owen turned his head to look at her.

"I think they're going to fire me." She repeated. "They're going to fire me and then I'm going to be jobless and I'll end up homeless and I'll have to sell my degree for food which means that I won't ever be able to be a lawyer again." She paused. "And I think that's the scariest part. The not being a lawyer. I don't know who I am if I'm not a lawyer. I've built my life around my profession and the fact that it could all be taken away..."

Owen sat up and looked down at her face. Her eyebrows were drawn together and she looked so vulnerable and raw. "They're not going to fire you." His voice was steady.

"Oh, what do you know?"

He smiled. "They're not going to fire you. This is just temporary. They're letting things calm down before they bring you back." He paused. "And even if they don't. Even if they turn out to be complete imbeciles and let you go, you'll find another job. You will. You're an amazing lawyer who kicks ass and firms will be fighting tooth and nail over you."

She looked at him for a moment and then reached up and kissed him. She didn't believe him. Not one bit. But he said it with such confidence, confidence in her and her capabilities, that a part of her wanted to believe him.

She pulled away and smiled at him.

He laid back down and she rested her head on his chest, his heart beating rhythmically beneath her ear.

He placed his hand on her back and gently ran it back and forth.

They were in one of Meredith's spare rooms in her unnecessarily large house. Cristina always commented that Meredith was one person and she didn't need all of this space. Of course it fell on deaf ears. Meredith was never going to get rid of the house. And Cristina had to admit that she would be a little sad if she did. In a short period of time, it had become her second home.

Owen picked up a strand of her hair and looked at it, rubbing it between his two fingers. "I love your hair."

"Thanks. I grew it myself."

He snorted and she smiled.

Cristina had taken his hand and dragged him upstairs when he confessed that he hadn't sleep for the last twenty-four hours. He had refused at first, not wanting to impose but it was all half hearted because the moment they started ascending the stairs, he stopped fighting it.

She sighed and closed her eyes to the feeling of his hand falling onto her back and gliding gently over it. Her tiny confession about the state of her job made her chest feel a little lighter. She had been holding everything in for weeks. Every problem she had felt like nothing compared to what Meredith was going through so, she didn't speak about it. She was fine with things revolving around Meredith for a while. Relationships aren't always fifty-fifty. Sometimes they're ninety-ten and that's okay.

"Are you sleepy?" She asked when she realized that his hand had stopped.

There wasn't any answer.

"Owen?" She lifted her head to look up at him and found that he was already asleep. She smiled and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth before moving off of him.

She brought the blankets up to their shoulders and threw her arm over his torso, bringing him close.

As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about how happy she was to have walked into that therapy building that day.

\

Her eyes flew open.

She couldn't breathe.

Owen was hovering above her, his eyes clouded and his mouth slightly agape while his hands tightened around her throat.

She couldn't breathe.

She grabbed at his hands, pulling at his fingers to try and loosen his grip but he was too strong.

She started clawing at his face, leaving red marks down his cheeks.

She slapped him several times while her legs flung around as she tried to escape.

She was starting to feel light headed and knew she was going to pass out soon.

She turned her head as much as she could and pushed the glass on her bedside table to the ground. The sound echoed through the room and debris scattered across the floor.

Still, Owen didn't wake.

She started pushing up against him in a last attempt to free herself.

"Owen!"

She watched his eyes go from cold to confusion to realization. He immediately released her and she slipped out from beneath him and onto the floor, not even feeling the broken glass cut into her foot.

She stood up and fled past Derek and into the upstairs bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She dashed over to the sink and gripped the edges before her legs gave in, her chest painfully heaving.

She didn't even have enough air in her lungs to let out a proper sob.

She coughed as her lungs filled up again and she sank down to the floor.

She leaned her head against the sink and took deep breaths, occasionally having to stop when her cries took over.

The door handle turned vigorously. "Cristina?" Meredith's voice was on the other side. "Cristina! Open the door!"

She didn't moved.

"Cristina!"

Her eyes drifted closed as the pain in her chest subsided and the heaving began to slow.

"What the fuck, Owen?" She heard Meredith yell. "You better leave because I'm calling the police!"

Cristina suddenly found herself standing and walking over to the door. She unlocked it and pulled it open.

All eyes turned to her.

"Cristina." Meredith wasn't yelling anymore.

Cristina ignored her. She looked over at Owen standing in the doorway of the room. He looked so broken.

"I'm..." he started to sob. "I'm so... sorry. I would never..."

"Come here."

"Cristina." Meredith looked at her.

"Come here." She said again.

Owen slowly walked over to her, his frame towering over her. "Cristina..." he said softly. "I am so sorry. I don't know what... I would never hurt you!"

"Look at me." She commanded.

After a moment, his eyes drifted up to meet hers.

"I'm okay." She tried to fake her confidence but it was all betrayed by the look in her eyes. "Okay?"

"I would never hurt you." He repeated slowly, softly.

"I know." She nodded. "I know."

He began to sob so she reached up and pulled him against her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as he cried into her neck.

Meredith looked over at Derek and his expression voiced the same concern hers did.

Cristina closed her eyes and blocked them out. She tightened her grip around Owen. "It's okay." She whispered to him. "It's okay. I'm okay. You were asleep. It's okay. It's okay."


	9. Chapter 9

25 May 2016

Cristina watched as Derek gently pulled the needle through her skin.

She was seated on the bathtub while he sat on a chair in front of her as he stitched the laceration underneath her foot shut.

Every now and then, he would look up at her like he wanted to say something and then look away again.

He did it one more time and she rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Derek." He looked up at her. "What?"

He looked down at his work. "You hugged him."

"I did."

"Why?"

She didn't answer.

"I know it's not my place to ask-"

"It's not."

"But I feel like you and I are connected somehow through Meredith and I care about you."

"Well, don't."

He didn't say anything.

She sighed. "He's wounded."

"What?"

"He's wounded. He has war wounds and he's in therapy for it and you care about me? I care about him."

"It's not your place to fix him."

"I know that." She sounded defensive. "He was asleep, okay? He didn't know..." she paused. "He was asleep."

Derek glanced briefly at her. "Okay."

She watched him. "Okay."

Meredith showed up in the doorway. "I cleaned that assholes face with the disinfectant and now he won't die or whatever."

Derek turned to her. "Thanks."

"Where is he?" Cristina asked carefully.

"Seriously?" Meredith seemed like she was angry enough for the both of them.

"Meredith." Derek said softly.

"He left. I told him to leave."

"You told him to-" she cut herself off when Meredith shot her a look. She decided that she needed to choose her battles.

Derek pulled the needle through one last time and then grabbed the scissors and snipped the thread.

He pulled off his gloves and tossed them into the bin. "You should try to stay off of that. It's going to hurt like hell when the anesthesia wears off."

Cristina took her foot off his lap and flexed it. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Derek stood. "I'm going back to bed. I have to be up in a few hours." He passed Meredith and eyed her, silently telling her to be nice and she rolled her eyes.

They listened as the bedroom door closed and the women turned to one another.

"Cristina."

She held up her hand. "Don't."

"That guy nearly killed you and you hugged him! What was that?"

"Stop."

"You literally hugged him. He strangled the shit out of you and you hugged him!"

"Please, stop."

"No!" She yelled. "I won't stop! What are you doing, Cristina? This isn't you! You don't make excuses! What is this?"

"You don't know what's happening here, Meredith! You don't have the slightest clue!"

"So, what is it? Explain it to me? Because I certainly don't see it!"

Cristina sighed. "Can we just drop this?"

Meredith laugh a little. "A lunatic just tried to kill my best friend and you want me to drop it?"

"He didn't try to-" she began to yell but caught herself. "Meredith." She calmed her tone. "He has issues. I'm aware of that. I knew going into this. Did I know that it was this severe? No. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he's wounded. He's open and bleeding and how is this any different from him having a heart attack or getting shot or losing a limb? I wouldn't leave him then and I won't leave him now."

"You're not supposed to fix him. It's not your job."

"You're starting to sound like Derek."

"Well, you should listen to us."

"I'm not going to abandon him, Mer."

Meredith sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Cristina, I love you. I do. But I can't support this." She shrugged.

"I didn't ask you to."

They were quiet.

"I'm mad at you and this situation so I'm going to leave." Meredith stated after a while. "I've got chemo later and I need to sleep." She watched Cristina. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I am."

Meredith stayed a moment longer and then turned around and left.

Cristina sighed.

She grabbed onto the basin and pulled herself up.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and cringed. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair was a mess and there were deep red marks around her neck.

She touched it.

Tears started to well up again so she turned away and limped out of the bathroom.

She walked into her room, avoiding the trail of blood leading from the doorway into the bathroom, and actively didn't look at the broken glass on the floor.

She pulled the blankets off of the bed and walked back out and into the next room.

She threw the covers onto the mattress and crawled onto it.

The room was dark and smelt damp and she suddenly felt very alone.

She bunched the pillow up underneath her head, not even caring that it smelled like dust and let her tears fall onto it.

Her eyes stung and her head throbbed from crying for so many hours but she couldn't stop.

She vaguely felt the bed shift underneath her as Meredith laid down behind her.

She wrapped her arm around her and Cristina immediately turned into her.

She started sobbing into Meredith's chest as she smoothed down Cristina's hair, gently soothing her. "It's okay." She said softly. "I'm here. It's okay."

\

The doorbell rang and Cristina looked up at Meredith, a fork hanging from her mouth.

"I'll get it." Derek announced as he wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin and stood up.

Cristina and Meredith continued eating their noodles in silence. Cristina checked on Meredith every five seconds by glancing over at her, checking for signs that she was going to be sick or pass out from the chemo she had earlier.

Their heads popped up again when they heard Derek speaking to the person at the door.

"Hunt, I don't think that's a good idea." They heard him say.

Meredith looked at Cristina. "You've got to be kidding me." She threw her napkin down on the table and stood up, leaving the kitchen.

Cristina pushed her food around on her plate as she listened to Meredith stomp towards the front door.

"You have some nerve showing up here! What? You thought you'd come over for round two?"

Owen looked down at the ground.

"I'm this close to calling the police. I swear to God."

"Meredith."

They turned around to find Cristina standing behind them, her arms across her chest.

"Give us a minute."

"No." Meredith looked furious. "That is not happening."

Cristina looked at Derek and he took Meredith's shoulders into his hands. "Come on. Let's go finish our dinner."

"Seriously?" She looked up at him.

He didn't say anything so she moved out of his grip and stormed into the kitchen.

Derek looked back at Owen and then at Cristina. "Call if you need me."

She nodded.

She turned back to the man standing a few feet away from her but did not look at him.

"I tried calling you a few times." He said softly.

"My, uh, phone died."

He nodded.

They were quiet.

"Can we talk?" He asked carefully.

She nodded and stepped outside with him.

They sat down on the step in front of the house and she waited for him to speak.

"Cristina..." he started. "I came here to tell you that we should stop seeing one another."

She finally looked up at him. "What?"

"I almost..." he looked down at his hands. "I hurt you." He looked into her eyes. "That's something I would never do. But I did. And I..."

"And you what?" She raised her voice.

"Cristina, what if I hurt you again?"

"You won't!"

"How are you so sure?"

She didn't answer.

"This isn't fair to you. You don't deserve this."

"Owen."

"I'm getting help. The hospital has a therapist and we have our first appointment tomorrow... I'm getting help." He nodded. "But this is for the best."

"Says who?"

He leaned forward, intending to place a kiss on her forehead but then his eyes fell on the red marks around her neck. He froze. He looked at it for a moment and then up at her. He stood up. "This is the right thing to do." He nodded.

"Owen!"

She watched him walk over to his truck and get in. He pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the road without glancing back.

Cristina sat there for a while until the cold crept under her clothes and forced her to go inside.

Instead of heading back into the kitchen, she went up to her room and closed the door. She wasn't in the mood for Meredith and her judgy eyes. But she didn't lock it. She knew Meredith would be up soon to crawl in behind her again and tell her everything was going to be okay.

\

3 June 2017

The door opened and she turned.

Owen glanced at her for a second and then went to sit in his usual chair.

She sighed and took out her phone.

She refreshed her emails and sat back.

There was an email from her firm and she closed her eyes, her thumb hovering above it.

She took a deep breath and opened it.

Her leg shook nervously as it loaded.

And then her heart sank.

She laughed almost eerily and threw her phone into her bag.

She swung it over her shoulder and stood up, ignoring the strange look from the leader as she pushed through the doors.

Grey clouds were forming above her and she thought about her appropriate it was as she walked over to her car.

"Cristina."

She didn't turn around.

"Cristina!"

She took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the doors as she approached it.

"Cristina!"

She swung around. "What? What do you want?" She yelled and he was taken aback.

"You left."

"So?"

"I just wanted to-"

"You wanted to what, Owen?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay."

She laughed and it confused him. "You wanted to check if I was okay?"

He nodded.

"Well, I just got fired so there's that." She threw her hands up.

"You got fired?"

"Oh, don't act like you care."

"Cristina, I care. Of course I care."

She scoffed. "You disappeared for nearly two damn weeks and now when you finally show up, you have the nerve to claim that you care about me? Bullshit."

"Cristina, I-"

"You know, you pursued me." She pointed at him. "You pursued me and you made me fall for you and then you just..." she looked down, shaking her head.

"I did what's best for you." He said softly.

"That's not your decision to make, Owen! You don't get to decide what's best for me! I'm a big girl. I know what I can and can't handle. You don't decide for me!"

"I know that."

"Do you though?" She looked at him for a moment.

He was quiet.

"Just-" she waved him off. "Leave me alone."

She turned around to get into her car when he called her name again.

She swung around and immediately his lips were on hers. It was a much fiercer kiss than their first one. More passionate, if that was even possible.

He pushed her back against the car door, slamming it shut and trapping her there with his body.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, she could feel his rapid breathing against her lips as he spoke. "Don't you see how much I care about you? Cristina," he bent his knees a little to look up into her eyes. "Don't you ever doubt how much I care about you." He paused. "Okay?"

She nodded slightly. "Okay."

"I care about you." He repeated. "I care about you more than I'm supposed to. I'm not supposed to be feeling this way about you right now but I do and it makes me feel guilty because you don't deserve this." He brought her hand up to his chest and held it there. "This is what you do to me." She looked into his eyes as she felt the fast pace of his heartbeat. "You make me feel..." he shook his head, trying to find the right words. "You make me feel like I'm not screwed up. Like I'm a regular guy. When you look at me... God, I feel like all of my problems are so small and insignificant. You look at me and suddenly I'm not the guy who doesn't sleep at night and who gets triggered by a question about war. Suddenly, I'm just... me. Owen Hunt. When I'm with you... I'm the purest form of myself. I laugh and joke and I flirt and I'm... happy." He used his freehand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want to be with you. You have to believe that. And if things were different, if I was all whole and fixed and not fucked up from that war, we would be together. And we would be great. I believe that."

"Me, too." She said softly.

They were quiet.

And so was the parking lot.

The sun was starting to set and it gave a lovely glow to her skin and she looked so beautiful that he had touch her. And so he did. He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek and down to her chin.

She closed her eyes as he leaned down to place gentle kisses all over her neck, silently apologizing for what he had done.

She gripped his shoulders when his tongue darted out and tasted the skin below her ear.

"Owen." She said softly.

He looked up at her. "I should go."

She nodded.

Neither made an effort to leave.

He ran his hands from her shoulders down to her wrists and she interlocked their fingers. She then brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of it.

He smiled at her and then kissed her forehead. Her nose. And then he found himself kissing her lips again. More gentle this time. He brought both hands up to cradle her face and she brought her own hands up to join his.

She added her tongue and immediately kicked up the heat.

One minute they were kissing against her car door and the next, they were writhing around half naked on her backseat.

All Cristina could think about was thanking Alex for insisting that she got her car windows tinted.

However, all thoughts of Alex left her mind when Owen dipped his tongue into her navel and groaned.

From that moment on, there was no turning back.

\

She was lying on his chest, his heartbeat beneath her ear. It was much calmer now than before.

Owen's fingertips glided over the skin over her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

She swallowed. "I don't think I can do this." She said softly, abruptly breaking the silence.

Owen looked down at the top of her head.

"I'm lying here in your arms and... I don't feel safe."

Owen's hand stilled.

She sniffled. "I thought I could do this but I can't."

They got dressed silently.

Neither knowing what to say.

But before Owen got out, he placed a kiss on her forehead and then looked into her eyes. "See you around?"

She brought her hand up to cup his cheek and smiled slightly. "See you around."

And when he left, she stayed sitting there for a while. She ended up crying again. Really crying. And then pulled herself together and got into the drivers seat, checked her makeup in the rear view mirror and pulled onto the road.

Instead of going over to Meredith's house, she drove to her apartment.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was cold and dusty from not being used for so long.

She dropped her bag on the floor and kicked off her shoes.

She then walked into her bedroom and fell onto the bed. She had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow. She no longer had a job. She no longer had Owen. Meredith was still a little hostile with her.

She turned onto her back and looked up at the ceiling.

Whatever was next, she needed it to be better than the last few months. She need her silver lining and her light at the end of the tunnel.

She needed something good.

Her phone rang and she knew who it was.

Meredith was probably wondering where she was.

She sat up and removed her jeans and sweater before walking into the living room to silence her phone as she made her way into the bathroom.

She turned on the shower and combed out her hair as the water warmed up.

She dropped the brush on the counter and then stepped into the hot water.

She let it wash over her, trying her best to drown out all thoughts of red headed men and dead and dying friends. She tried to drown it all out but drowned herself in them instead.

\

Leave a review!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi. know I've been neglecting this story for a while but I promise that's going to stop. I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going and what I'm doing with with this story so it takes me longer than usual to write for it. But I'll always come back. Promise.**

/

10 June 2016

Cristina lifted her head slightly and looked down at Meredith's shoes. They looked angry.

She dropped her head back down. "What do you want, Meredith?" Her voice was muffled by the mattress.

"You've been missing for a week." She sounded angry, too.

Cristina sighed and flipped around so that she was no longer lying at the foot of the bed. She realized how much her head had missed the softness of her pillows. "Just leave me alone." She pulled the blankets over her face so that she didn't have to look at Meredith's equally angry face.

"You're depressed."

"Yeah, no shit."

"Come home with me. At least there we can be depressed together."

"Depression doesn't like company."

"Cristina."

"Go away, Meredith."

She felt the bed shift as her friend climbed in next to her.

"No."

"You're relentless, you know that?"

"I know."

Cristina sighed again and then lowered the blankets.

"There she is." Meredith smiled.

"Oh, shut up."

"Are you going to tell me what happened, now?"

Cristina sat up. "What's there to tell? They fired me."

"Did they say why?"

"Something about not representing the firm well and being a bad image." She shrugged.

"Assholes."

"Yeah."

"I'm going to quit."

"Don't be stupid, Meredith."

"My mind is made up."

Cristina rolled her eyes and then took Meredith's hand into hers. "You're not going to quit. Don't be an idiot. Unemployment and cancer doesn't go well together."

Meredith squeezed her hand. "Fine."

"Thanks for the offer, though."

They were quiet.

"Will you come home with me now? Derek's driving me insane and I need you to help me bury the body."

Cristina nodded. "I'll grab my shovel."

\

Meredith folded her arms on the side of the tub and rested her head there.

Cristina wasn't speaking but her eyes were.

She could be cold at times but those eyes never were. They played out every emotion she felt, every thought she had, it was all there in those two pools of dark brown.

"What are you thinking about?"

Cristina looked up at her, her eyebrows drawn down. She was quiet for a moment longer. "I had sex with Owen."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It happened the day I got fired. We didn't mean for it to happen but it did. Which sounds cliché, I know. But it's true."

"And then what happened?"

"Then... I was lying in his arms and I didn't feel safe and I told him so." She shrugged.

"Well, not feeling safe is understandable."

"Yeah, and he understood. He accepted it and then we got dressed and he left and it was over."

"Is it over? Does it feel over?"

Cristina flattened her hand against the bubbles and moved her palm across the foam. She looked back up at Meredith. "I wouldn't feel like this if it wasn't."

Meredith didn't say anything.

Cristina sighed and sunk further down into the warm water. "I don't know what to do."

Meredith lifted her head. "About Owen?"

"About everything. I don't know where to go next."

"We'll figure it out."

"But what if we don't, though? What if they decide to revoke my license?"

Meredith shook her head. "They wouldn't do that."

"You don't know that. They could if they wanted to. If they felt like their reasons were enough. They could take away my license and then where would I be?"

Meredith was quiet.

"I don't know who I am if I'm not a lawyer."

A moment passed. "Well, I know who you are."

Cristina rolled her eyes.

"You're Cristina Yang. You're strong and stubborn and ambitious."

"Mer."

Meredith ignored her. "You don't let people push you over. You fight for what you want and you don't let anyone stand in your way." She paused. "Listen, we all know that if this was a man they were dealing with, they'd give him a slap on the wrist and move on but it's not. It's you. And you're this strong woman who commands a room and draws everyone's attention and you could lawyer the fuck out every one of them and that's why they're being extra shitty but who gives a fuck? We both know that if it came down to it, if they decided to revoke your license, you'd fight until the bitter end and you'd win. You would. And even if you didn't, even if the unthinkable happened, you wouldn't just lay down and give up." She paused again. "And I might not be sure about where you'd be if you lost your license but you can bet your ass I'd be right there with you. Side-by-side. Together. Thelma and Louise style."

"Didn't they die at the end of the movie?"

"They did."

Cristina looked down at the water.

They were quiet again.

"Thank you for running a bath for me. I don't hate it as much as I thought I would."

Meredith smiled. "You're welcome."

\

17 June 2016

"I didn't expect to see you here."

She turned around with her coffee in her hand. She almost wish she hadn't because he looked so good that all she wanted to do was take him back to her car. "You mean because I got fired?"

"Well, yeah."

"I decided that I needed the therapy anyway." She shrugged and then turned back around and added sugar to her coffee. "Why are you here? Don't you have a private therapist now?"

"I thought it wouldn't hurt to get double sessions."

She nodded as she turned back to him.

They were quiet as they looked at one another.

"How have you been?"

He thought about it. "I'm getting there. Dr. Wyatt and I have been working through a bunch of stuff. Working to help me deal with my triggers and everything."

She nodded again. "That's good."

"How about you? How have you been doing?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm coping. I'm staying over at Meredith's because she feels better if she hovers and I've gotta admit that her hovering helps." She shrugged. "But don't tell her I said that."

He gave her a small smile.

They were quiet again.

"Cristina, I'm-"

"I know." She cut him off. "I know you are."

"I wish there was a way-"

"Me, too."

He looked at her. "Are you coming back next week?"

She looked away for a moment and then back at him. "I am."

"See you then?"

She nodded. "See you then."

He backed away and then made his way out of the building.

She let go of a breath and took in an even deeper one. She shook her head and then grabbed several donuts and left. She needed to get back to Meredith's hovering as soon as possible.


	11. Chapter 11

8 July 2016

Cristina walked into the room. "How do I look?"

Derek turned around. "Don't you knock?"

She watched him as he rolled away from Meredith. "No."

"You look very professional." Meredith smiled.

Cristina and Meredith looked at him.

"I agree. Very professional."

"But still hot." Meredith commented.

"Well, obviously. I look hot in everything."

\

She walked into the living room, tossed her keys on the coffee table and threw herself down on the couch.

"How did it go?"

"They called the firm to do a background check."

"Again?"

She nodded.

Meredith set her magazine down. "I'm sorry."

Cristina sighed and moved to lay down on Meredith's lap, curling her legs onto the couch.

Derek came down the stairs while pulling on his jacket. "How did it go?"

Meredith shook her head.

He looked down at Cristina. "That's okay." He nodded. "We'll get the next one."

\

16 July 2016

She walked into the room and smiled at the nurses and familiar patients as she walked over to Meredith.

She stole a chair and pulled it over.

"How did it go?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, so then we'll get the next one." Meredith assured her.

"I'm getting tired of hearing that."

"Well, we're going to say it until it's true."

She sighed. "I'm running out of firms to apply at, Mer." She looked down. "I might have to move back home. Or somewhere else because it's clearly not working out here."

"Hey," Meredith moved as much as she could without disturbing the tube pumping chemicals inside of her. "No one's moving. You haven't even tried all of the firms yet. We're not done. It's going to happen, Cristina. Those assholes don't get to do this."

"I did this, Mer. I did this. I couldn't control my emotions and I did this."

"Cristina, look at me." She waited until she did. "I'm the one sitting in this chair with chemo being pumped into my body. I'm the one with cancer. You do not get to feel sorry for yourself. Not when you have so many possibilities left, okay? We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. Not yet." She took Cristina's hand into hers. "Not yet."

\

20 July 2016

"How's the job hunt going?"

She looked at him curiously.

"Derek."

She nodded. "So he's the mole."

Owen smiled.

"Well," she leaned back against the step behind her. "I've applied at nearly ten firms this month and I've been rejected by all of them." She smiled. "They keep doing damn background checks and my old firm just won't keep their mouths shut. I don't know. I might have to move." She took a donut from him. Store bought. They don't give donuts to people who play hooky.

He looked at her. "Move?"

She looked up. "Yeah. If things don't work out here, I'll have to move."

"What does Meredith think about you moving?"

"Obviously she doesn't want me to." She shrugged. "But If I have to, I have to. I've done it before."

"You haven't even applied at all of the firms yet. See how those work out first."

She looked at him. "Have you and Meredith been talking on the phone or something?"

He laughed. "No. But I think we're on the same team when it comes to you moving away."

They were quiet.

"Hey, I've got this ex patient who has his own firm. What if I give him a call and set up a meeting for the two of you?"

"You'd do that?" She took a bite of her donut.

"I would."

She thought about it. "Couldn't you like tell him he has some life threatening disease and you refuse to cure it unless he hires me?"

He laughed again. "I can't do that but I could call in a favor. He owes me."

She looked at him for a moment. "Are you sure about this? You don't have to pull any strings for me. I can-"

"Cristina," he said gently, cutting her off. "I want to do this for you. Let me do it."

She nodded. "Okay." She smiled. "Okay, you can call him."

"Great. I'll do it tonight." He took a bite of his own donut.

They suddenly heard loud chatter and chairs moving around.

Cristina stood up. "Oh, they're done. We've gotta go before the therapist gives me the stink eye again."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: happy new year!**

/

3 August 2016

"Owen!"

He swung around and watched as Cristina ran towards him.

She immediately threw her arms around his neck, hugging him to her.

He smiled as she pulled back. "Not that I'm complaining but, what was that for?"

"I got it!" She exclaimed. "I got the job!"

"You did?" He matched her excitement.

"I did!"

"Cristina, that's so great!" He hugged her again, picking her up this time and twirling her around, making her laugh.

She held his face as he set her down again. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. This wouldn't have happened without you."

"What? No. This is all you. I was just the middleman."

She let go and took his hand instead as they walked towards the door. "Either way, thank you."

"You're welcome." He stopped walking and turned to her. "How about we go out and celebrate?"

"We have therapy in two minutes." She said stupidly.

He smiled. "I meant after. We could go to a restaurant. You could invite Meredith and Derek. It'll be fun."

She thought about it. "I don't think Meredith's a big fan of yours right now."

"Oh, right."

She looked at him. "But that doesn't mean the two of us can't celebrate."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then." His eyes were sparkling. "It's a date." He turned and began walking again.

She looked up at him. "Who said it was a date?" She teased.

"Oh, believe me, it's a date."

\

Cristina held his free hand as he drove. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"You're not going to murder me and toss my body into the woods, are you?"

"Well, If I were, why would I tell you?"

She smiled.

They had just come from dinner and Cristina was feeling unusually happy. She had ordered pasta and he had ordered salmon and he didn't seem to mind when she ate half of his meal. The conversation had been light and flirty and then as they were leaving, he announced that he had a surprise for her. She'd been trying to get him to tell her what it was ever since.

"Would you at least give me a hint?"

"Do you not know what a surprise is?"

"I know what surprises are, I just don't care for them."

"Doesn't mystery intrigue you?"

"It doesn't."

"Oh, well, that's too bad because I'm nothing but mysterious."

"Get the hint?"

He looked over at her, a smile on his lips. "Ouch."

She smiled back.

He released her hand and placed it on her thigh, squeezing. "Just relax. We're nearly there. It's worth the anticipation."

"Fine." Honestly, he could convince her of anything if he touched her like that.

Less than fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into a parking lot.

"What are we doing here? Are we going to make out in the back seat?"

"Among other things."

The truck stopped and Owen looked over at her, excitement written all over his face. "Come on." He opened the door and hopped out. He then went over to the passenger side and helped lift her out.

When she dropped to her feet, their faces were inches from one another and she could feel his warm breath tickling her lips. "I thought we were getting in the backseat." She said softly.

He smiled. "Soon. I promise." He then turned and took her hand into his, pulling her towards the front of the truck.

"Okay, what are we doing?"

He pointed towards the sky. "Just watch."

"What am I supposed to be watching?"

He pulled her to his side. "Wait for it."

She looked at him and sighed. She then leaned her back against the truck and decided that the man beside her was mentally insane. That was the only explanation for his behavior.

She was about to question him again when the sky suddenly lit up.

"There! There it is!" He exclaimed.

Cristina gasped as she watched the colors dance across the night sky. "Are those the-" she pointed up at the lights. "You- you brought me to watch the northern lights?"

"I did." He smiled as he took in the phenomenon.

"Wow." Was all she could say.

Owen finally looked down at her. "Wow." He repeated. Only, it wasn't the sky he was talking about. He stood up, went to the back of the truck and retrieved a blanket he had brought along just for the occasion. He threw it over her shoulders and then threw an arm around her, pulling her against him.

As he breathed in her scent, he thought about how lucky he was. The weather had played in his favor and the night sky had pulled through. He had always planned on bringing her there for their first real date. So when she surprisingly agreed to going out with him, he knew he had to pull out all the stops. And as he watched her watch the sky, awe visible in her eyes, he knew he had made the right decision. Not just about the location of the date but about the woman he was on the date with.

He wasn't even falling anymore. He had already fallen. Hard. And he knew there was no way he was going to be able to get back up again. Not even if he wanted to.

He felt her take a deep breath in and let it out.

He stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her tight.

She leaned back against him. "This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Well, in all fairness, I'm not a romantic date kind of girl."

"I thought this wasn't a date." He teased.

"This kind of game can't go to waste."

"So, now I've got game?" He smiled.

"Oh, you do. You definitely do."

\

He walked her up to the door and watched her for a minute. "I had a great time."

"Me, too."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

After heavily making out in his backseat for more than hour, as promised, he had taken her to get some late night ice cream. They sat in a brightly lit all-night diner for another two hours, getting to know one another. Cristina told him about her mother and stepdad and he told her about his own mother. She apparently didn't live too far from the hospital. She noticed that he left out details about his father. She hadn't told him anything about her father either. He then told her about his time in the army, the good times, the times without bloody soldiers and missing limbs. He told her that his therapist had suggested that he started speaking to her about these things. She listened intently, held his hand when his eyes grew dark, even the good stories had that affect on him, and when the stories were done and they had nothing left to say, they just sat there together for a while, enjoying one another's presence.

Before they knew it, it was three in the morning and Owen had the morning shift.

She wanted to invite him in but she felt like that was rushing things.

"Can we do this again?" He looked so hopeful that she couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, Owen, we can do this again." She watched the relief cross his face. "However, I don't know how you're going to top this date. You might've peaked too early."

He took ahold of her arm and pulled her closer. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Do you now?" She smiled against his mouth.

"Hmmm."

He kissed her gently at first, but before he knew it, he was backing her up against the door and pushing his body into hers.

He was about to let his wandering hands wander further when the porch light came on and the door opened.

Cristina swung around and found Derek on the other side, looking at them through the screen door. "I heard a noise."

"That would be us, dad." Cristina answered.

"Lock up when you're done." Derek instructed dryly as he headed back up.

Cristina turned to Owen again, a smile on both of their lips.

"Your parents seem strict."

"My dad's cool but my mom's a little uptight."

He laughed and brought her close again. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

He placed a soft kiss on her lips and then released her.

She watched him walk up to his truck and give one last wave as he drove away.

She then walked over to the swing on the porch and sat down.

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. The feeling of his lips and hands on her body were all too fresh. So, instead, she sat there on the porch until the sun came up and wondered if things in her life were finally starting to take a turn.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: hi! It's been so long! I'm sorry kept everyone waiting this long but I'm back! I hope you're still interested lmao. Enjoy!**

 **\**

10 August 2016

Meredith smoothed down her suit and then smiled. "Okay, you're ready for your first day of work."

Cristina smiled back.

"I kinda feel like I'm sending my kid off for her first day of school."

"That's weird."

"No, it's not." Meredith handed her briefcase to her. "Be nice. Don't insult anyone on your first day. They don't know you yet. They don't get your sense of humor. Give them time." She handed Cristina a flask filled with coffee. "Try to make friends. You're a lawyer. You need to have people on your side. People you can trust. People you can consult." She pulled Cristina into a hug. "Try not to slap anyone. Even if they deserve it."

Cristina smiled. "Funny." She held on tighter. "Will you be okay? You haven't really been alone since the diagnosis."

"I'll be okay." Meredith pulled back. "Derek's taking a half day so I won't be alone for that long."

Meredith reached behind her and pulled the door open. She turned Cristina around and shoved her through it. "Get out of here and go be a lawyer."

Cristina swung around again, a worried look in her eyes. "Mer..."

Meredith smiled. "You're going to do great. You're Cristina Yang. You've got this."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Cristina took a deep breath and nodded. She turned again and made her way over to her car.

"I'm serious though!" Meredith called out after her. "Don't slap anyone!"

"I got it, Mer."

\

Cristina swiveled in her new chair.

Her first day was off to a slow start.

She looked around, trying to get accustomed to her new surroundings.

Her office was spacious.

Dark woods and a leather couch made it feel warm yet professional.

Her office was secluded which meant that she wouldn't have to socialize all day long and that was a huge perk.

Her phone buzzed and she dug it out of her purse.

She smiled when she saw Owen's name.

"Good luck on your first day. Knock 'em dead!"

"Thanks but knocking people is what got me into this mess in the first place."

Owen smiled, surprised at how fast she replied. "Slow day?"

"No one seems to be committing crimes today." She complained.

"Give it time."

"How about you? No surgeries?"

"I had an open window and decided to find out how your day was going."

She smiled. "Well, aren't we the gentleman."

"We certainly are."

"Go save lives, Dr. Hunt."

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled and set her phone down when it buzzed again.

"One more thing?"

"Yes?"

A moment passed and she thought she might've missed him.

"What are you wearing?"

She laughed. She could practically hear the low baritone of his voice and her skin flushed. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"I would, actually."

She contemplated. "Pick me up later and you might find out."

"Deal!"

"Key word 'might'. "

"Good enough for me."

"See you then."

"Enjoy your day, sweetheart."

She smiled again. How was it so easy for him to switch from sexy to sweet in a matter of seconds?

She didn't have much time to think about it because her new boss was suddenly walking into her office.

"Yang, a new case just came in. Double homicide. Perpetrator claims he's being framed. We need you on it."

She stood. "Yes, sir."

"Make me proud." He requested and then disappeared as fast as he appeared.

Cristina steadied herself against her desk, suddenly feeling the pressure. She picked up her phone and was about to call Meredith when she thought better of it. Instead, she tossed her phone into her bag and grabbed her briefcase and started making her way out of the office.

She had determination in her step.

She only had one shot to prove herself and she wasn't going to mess it up. Not again.

\

She walked into the designated room where her new client was waiting for her.

It was all metal and barred windows and brick walls.

She stepped inside and the guard closed the door behind her.

She looked at her client.

He didn't look like a murderer but her job had taught her to never judge a person by their looks.

He glanced up at her. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"I'm trying to figure out if you did it."

"I didn't."

She walked over to the table he was handcuffed to and sat down. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I have an alibi."

"Which is?"

"I was staying over at my boyfriends. There's no way I could have done it."

"So, if I called your boyfriend right now, he'd confirm your story?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Cristina sat back and watched him for a moment before leaning in again. "If we're going to do this, if I'm going to save your ass from going to jail, you can't lie to me." She warned. "I need the truth. I need to know what I'm working with. I don't want to be surprised. I don't want to be caught off guard. You tell me the truth or you got to jail. It's up to you."

He looked into her eyes. "I didn't do it. I could never... I didn't do it." He repeated. "You have to believe me."

She was quiet for a moment and then she nodded. "I believe you."

\

She hopped into his truck, throwing her purse in before her. "You need to get a lower vehicle."

"Maybe you need to just grow more."

"Are you really choosing your truck over me?"

"I am." He nodded.

She smiled and leaned forward, kissing him softly.

"A few more of those and I might change my mind."

"We don't have time. I'm starving." She stated as she pulled on her seatbelt. "Get me some food and we'll see how the night goes."

Owen smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

\

"Do you think he did it?"

She shook her head as she sipped her soda. "No." She paused. "Maybe. I don't know. He's hard to read. Usually I'm good at these things. Reading people. Knowing if they're innocent or not." She popped a few fries into her mouth.

"You're out of practice. You'll get there again." He assured her.

"Yeah." She looked at him. "How about you? How was work?"

"It's okay." He shrugged. "I had a pretty slow day."

"Are you moping because no one got impaled by poles or run over busses?"

"No." He shook his head and then thought about it. "Actually, yes."

She laughed. "I've always been intrigued by surgery."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She finished off her meal and pushed her tray aside.

"If you want, I could sneak you into the gallery sometime? No one would know."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yeah, of course."

"That would be awesome!"

"Just let me know which day and I'll get you some scrubs so that you can look the part."

"Okay." She smiled. "It's a date."

"Watching a bloody surgery is a date?"

"It sure is." She nodded.

Owen shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "God, I'm so into you."

"I would hope so."

He leaned over the table. "Come here."

She did as she was told and closed the distance between them by leaning over as well. "Yes?"

"You're beautiful."

"Stating the obvious."

A moment passed.

"Cristina?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to kiss you, now."

She swallowed. "Okay."

He slowly pressed his lips to hers, holding her face in place and his began to dance with her tongue.

He kissed her for several extraordinary minutes until he finally ran out of air and pulled away.

Cristina whimpered at the loss of contact.

He watched her open her eyes, her lids hooded. "You're good at that." She said softly.

"Stating the obvious."

She smiled at him for a moment and then suddenly stood up. She held out her hand. "Come on."

He looked up at her. "Where are we going?" He placed his hand in hers anyway.

"Back to your apartment. I have to show you what I'm wearing."

He smiled. "I can see what you're wearing."

"Well, you haven't seen everything."


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N: it's been a while, I know! I apologize. Like I said in my other fic, I have a lot going on right now and it makes it hard to write. It's also really hard to write this story because I'm not entirely sure where it's going. But I will soon. Promise. Thank you for being patient. I really appreciate it xxx_**

\

11 August 2016

Cristina pulled her t-shirt over her head and fluffed out her hair.

"Will you come to therapy with me?"

She turned to look at him. He was still in bed, his blue eyes soft and ginger hair ruffled. She knitted her brows and smiled. "What?"

"Will you come to therapy with me?" He repeated.

"That's the question you choose to ask me after we've just had sex?"

He smiled. "My therapist suggested that I bring you to one of my sessions. It would give her a chance to meet you and assess our relationship."

"Why would I want anyone assessing our relationship?"

"It would help." He paused. "Both of us. It would help both of us."

She looked at him and then turned away. "I don't know."

"Cristina." He said gently and she turned back to him. "Please. Just do this for me?"

"Do I have to?"

"No." He shook his head. "But it would mean a lot if you did." He sat up and took her head into his hands. "I want us to work. I want us to be able to sleep in the same bed together. I want to be able to hold you and wake up to you and I want us to be okay. And I think this will help."

"You do?"

"I do."

She was quiet for a moment and then she nodded. "Okay."

He smiled. "Really?"

"Really."

He pulled her into a kiss and was about to deepen it when she pulled away. "Nope." She stood up and grabbed her jeans from the floor, pulling it on. "I have to get home. I have work in the morning."

"C'mon. I'll be quick."

"Owen," she laughed, trying her best to look stern. "No. You have to take me home."

He crawled over to her side and swung his legs over the bed. He cocked his head to the side and dragged her by the flaps of her unzipped jeans, over to him.

He lifted up her t-shirt just enough to place a kiss on her abdomen, his tongue darting out to taste her skin. She took a deep breath in.

"Owen."

"Hmm?" He kissed the valley between her breasts through her shirt, his hands exploring beneath it.

"I have to go home."

"Okay." He began to kiss her neck and felt her relax into his arms, her resolve slipping away.

"I really have to go."

He looked into her eyes and her lips parted, her body anticipating what was about to happen.

He looked down at her lips and her body caught fire as he leaned in and captured them in a searing kiss, his tongue and lips and teeth devouring her.

She suddenly pushed away.

He looked at her, disappointed that his efforts hadn't worked but then she pulled off her top and tossed it aside. "Okay, one last time and then I really have to go." She stated as she made her way back into his arms, pulling her jeans off in the process.

Owen smiled triumphantly. "Whatever you say."

\

Cristina looked up at Owen, his eyes playful. "Okay, you walked me up to the door."

"I want to see you go inside."

She laughed and shook her head. "You're clingy, aren't you?"

"I am."

She turned away from him to unlock the door and he went to stand behind her, pulling her against him. His hand began to travel up her shirt and she swatted him away, turning to him. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "Seriously."

"Dr. Hunt, I don't know about you, but us humans need to sleep."

"Oh, sleep is for the weak."

She rolled her eyes in amusement and stepped inside the house.

She looked around.

Something seemed off.

Owen knitted his brows. "What's wrong?"

"Meredith?" She called out. There wasn't any answer. "Derek?" She made her way up the stairs and found that all of the rooms were empty. She looked at her watch. It was way too late for them to still be out.

She took out her phone and dialed Derek's number.

He answered almost immediately. "Cristina."

"Where are you?"

"At the hospital." He sounded tired.

"Hospital?" She started making her way downstairs. "Why are you at the hospital?"

"Meredith fainted."

"She what?" She exclaimed. "Why didn't you call me?"

"It wasn't anything serious. She just hadn't eaten today and I brought her down to make sure she was alright."

"Okay." She looked at Owen. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"There's really no need-"

"See you soon."

She hung up and stared at the man in front of her.

He held out his keys. "Let's go."

\

Owen chased after Cristina as she made her way through the hospital halls in search of Meredith's room.

She spotted Derek through one of the windows and immediately stepped inside.

"What happened?"

He looked at her standing by the door and stood up. "She's okay. She just... fainted."

"She had chemo today." She walked over to Meredith's side.

"I know."

"And you didn't get her something to eat?"

"She didn't want to eat."

"Of course she didn't want to eat. She just had chemo! You have to force her." Cristina raised her voice a little. She looked down at Meredith's sleeping face. "You couldn't fix her wig?" She asked as she adjusted it.

"Okay, Cristina, I get it. I can't take care of her as well as you can."

She scoffed. "No, you can't."

"But here's the thing, I didn't get myself fired so I didn't sit at home all day-"

"Okay, woah." Owen stepped in. "I know tensions are high because someone you both care about is ill but there's no reason to be at each other's throats." He looked at the two of them. "Now, Derek, how about the two of us step outside and give Cristina a minute with Meredith."

Derek looked at Cristina and then nodded, making his way out of the room.

"Are you going to be okay?" Owen asked.

"I'm okay." She nodded.

"I'll be outside." He stated and closed the door behind him. He walked over to where Derek stood at the nurses station.

"She's impossible."

Owen smiled. "Yes, she is." He nodded. "But it's because she cares so much. So deeply."

Derek couldn't argue. "Yeah."

"I think the two of us just need to learn to step back when it comes to those two. I need to accept that I'm not Meredith and you need to accept that you're not Cristina."

"I hate to admit it but I think you're right."

The men watched Meredith smile as she woke up, spotting Cristina beside her.

"I think her first love is always going to be Cristina." Derek commented.

Owen nodded. "We're always going to come in second."

Derek turned to him. "And you're okay with it?"

He looked at Derek and then at Cristina, her face beautifully lit with a smile. "If it means that I get to be with her for the rest of my life? Hell yeah I'm okay with it."

Derek smiled and turned back to the window. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

\

Cristina helped Meredith into bed and pulled the covers over her. "Are you warm?"

"I am."

"Do you need anything?" Derek asked.

Meredith laughed. "I'm okay. You guys can stop fussing over me now."

"They're never going to stop." Owen commented from the door.

"Oh, what do you know?" Cristina looked back at him and then at Meredith. "He's right, you know."

Owen smiled. He looked down at his watch. "I'm going to get going. I've gotta get to work in a few hours."

"I'll walk you out." Cristina offered.

"Feel better, Mer." Owen greeted her.

"Thank you for bringing her to the hospital. She probably would've walked or hijacked a car if you weren't here."

"She's right." Cristina informed him.

"No problem."

Owen and Derek said goodnight to one another and then Cristina followed him down the stairs.

He opened the front door and stood in the doorway. "Well, that was a dramatic end to our night."

Cristina smiled, stepping forward so that they were inches away. "Yeah, you'll quickly learn that everything's dramatic when it involves me."

"I'm okay with that."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and brought him close. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow." He leaned down and kissed her for several minutes.

She pulled back, her eyes hooded, and pushed him out the door. "Please leave before I cave again."

He laughed. "Goodnight."

"Night."

She watched him climb into his truck and disappear around a corner.

She closed the door and locked it.

She ran her fingers over her lips as she climbed the stairs, smiling slightly.

She already couldn't wait to see him. And that annoyed her more than she could say. But she decided to just go with the flow for once. Maybe it lead somewhere good.


End file.
